@DutchZ | May 10 2022 17:52 utc | 2
I hope that these events will be the final nail in the coffin of the EU. It is an evil organisation. And yes, take down NATO as well.

Posted by: Norwegian | May 10 2022 17:54 utc | 3

As the pumping stations are falling in Luhansk hands Ukrainians are cutting off deliveries. This is further going to put Germans and other Europeans under pressure. I predict that very soon Germans will start “stealthy” tests of NS2. This can literally make Biden drop dead.

Posted by: Milos | May 10 2022 17:54 utc | 5

Any news on this from the Saker?
The Ukrainians have pushed the boat out.
On who’s advice?
https://thesaker.is/this-is-just-too-delicious-not-to-sitrep-quickly-ukraine-calls-force-majeure-and-halts-1-3-of-european-gas/

Posted by: Jpc | May 10 2022 17:55 utc | 7

https://t.me/intelslava/27937
BANNED IN WESTERN MEDIA

Posted by: Hammer_09 | May 10 2022 18:02 utc | 9

https://t.me/intelslava/28446
MOST DEFINITELY BANNED IN WESTERN MEDIA
🇷🇺🇺🇦 The special forces of the DPR army tracked down the headquarters of one of the artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction. After waiting for their commanders to gather at headquarters, an ATGM was struck. After the surviving Ukrainians running out of the headquarters turned out to be naked, it became clear what their gunners were doing at meetings. Now the world community will accuse our side of mass killing of LGBT people.

Posted by: Hammer_09 | May 10 2022 18:06 utc | 11

My first post here, but I have been reading this blog for many years. Thank you Bernhard for all the work that you do!
”
That said, I would love to be a fly spying on what Zelensky, Stoltenberg, Soros, and the Biden regime talk about behind closed doors. In particular, I would like to know what the F*** Zelensky is thinking! Other than his echo chamber, does Zelensky not realise that Ukraine has no friends? Why would he alienate his only “friend” Brussels by:
*Threatening them with “let me in or else” rhetoric?
*Being rude when demanding aid from EU?
I wonder if the average Western sheeple are aware of Ukrainian grain trucks exporting precious grains to the EU, but still crying about “great famine?!?” My guess is no, because I still see and hear appeals for donations to the Red Cross Ukrainian relief fund.

Posted by: Dick Lenning | May 10 2022 18:12 utc | 13

I’ve got something to say about the very first sentence of Putin’s v-day speech:

Fellow Russian citizens, Dear veterans, Comrade soldiers and seamen, sergeants and sergeant majors, midshipmen and warrant officers, Comrade officers, generals and admirals, I congratulate you on the Day of Great Victory!

Maybe that opening bores the heck out of you, but it strikes my ear as the reverse order of what you’d hear from an orator in USA. As if the people rank first, elsewhere.
Another observation: Possibly Bernhard’s greatness is related to his reticence. I need to follow the master’s example, learning when to crumple something up for the dust bin.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 10 2022 18:18 utc | 15

Cutting off some gasflow to the EU must effect Ukro self, because they are getting paid by Russia
for transporting the gas through Ukro, I think. Who knows?

Posted by: DutchZ | May 10 2022 18:22 utc | 17

Sorry: I have to play catch up on this four-oh-four business. The entomologist in me — possibly also the etymologist — wants to know how “404” came to signify “Ukraine”.
A quick search reveals discussion of a biolab in “Pit 404” of the Azovstal complex. Is this a related “404”? Is this numerical slang just a MoA thing?
Thanx.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 10 2022 18:26 utc | 19

@May 10 2022 18:24 utc | 18
No problem accessing RT here. Sputniknews is blocked since a couple of weeks.

Posted by: Norwegian | May 10 2022 18:28 utc | 21

Saker reporting Ukraine is going to halt 1/3 of gasflow to Europe:
https://thesaker.is/this-is-just-too-delicious-not-to-sitrep-quickly-ukraine-calls-force-majeure-and-halts-1-3-of-european-gas/

Posted by: vector | May 10 2022 18:31 utc | 23

Posted by: MarkU | May 10 2022 18:24 utc | 18
RT & Spunik are blocked in NL. I go via VPN-Georgia to connect to them.

Posted by: DutchZ | May 10 2022 18:31 utc | 25

As mentioned, there’re multiple gas pipelines running into Europe, with Southern, Southeastern Europe getting the most direct, uninterrupted supply provided they pay in rubles. Weather in Nothern Europe is turning balmy, 6-20C in Berlin for the next week that will continue warming. So, gas for heating homes isn’t as critical now as it was 2-3 months ago. What the cut in supply does do it limit industry and thus threatens jobs and the economy. I presume the pipeline being discussed by media is the Soyuz line, not the Brotherhood line.
IMO, the decision to reduce the flow was made in Washington, so it must be aimed at Germany and Northern Europe. The attempt by EU to impose an EU-wide embargo on Russian oil imports failed, so this move might be tied to that failure to further destabilize Europe.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 10 2022 18:33 utc | 27

I think this amount is only $4 billion short of the USA’s entire infrastructure/housing budget, what is the average American thinking about this, God only knows.
The United States is set to ramp up weapons delivery to Ukraine, deepening its involvement in the simmering war in defiance of repeated warnings by arch-foe Russia.
“A report in Associated Press (AP), quoting sources close to Congressional Democrats, said the Congress might vote on Tuesday to boost President Joe Biden’s requested $33 billion Ukraine aid package to nearly $40 billion.
Biden on Monday signed a bill into law aimed at streamlining the process for getting military assistance to Ukraine as Russian forces continue to make rapid advances in the former Soviet republic.
“I’m signing a bill that provides another important tool in our efforts to support the government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in their fight to defend their country and their democracy against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s brutal war — and it is brutal,” Biden said.
“We cannot afford delay in this vital war effort,” he hastened to add, stressing that the bill needs to be finalized as soon as possible.”

Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 10 2022 18:37 utc | 29

RT reports that Ukraine’s first president – Leonid Kravchuk (88) – has died “after a long illness”

Posted by: Norwegian | May 10 2022 18:39 utc | 31

Posted by: karlof1 | May 10 2022 18:33 utc | 26
I admire your knowledge on the matter and your geopolitical insight. I am as always learning a lot
in this blog.
What would be the cost/benefit for the US/UK to ruin the German economy. Pressure Ger. to stop the oil and cause more damage? Denmark and Sweden/Finland NL maybe are following the Brussels oilban.

Posted by: DutchZ | May 10 2022 18:44 utc | 33

Aleph_Null | May 10 2022 18:26 utc | 19
how “404” came to signify “Ukraine”.
This came from an error code on web servers. When a web server is given the address of a non existing page, the standard error code it returns to signify that the page is not found is “Error 404”.
Extrapolate to Ukraine and you get the idea.
Of course now that they are cutting the flow of gas to Europe, we may consider calling them 502: Bad Gateway!
A while after the supply of gas is cut off and reserves run out, we will probably think about calling the EU 503: Service Unavailable.
Or when Macron was calling Putin all the time asking him to let the Azov guys out, he was just 400: Bad Request
I hope it’s clearer now.

Posted by: CPY | May 10 2022 18:48 utc | 35

@ Republicofscotland | May 10 2022 18:42 utc | 31
Thanks for the links, I agree about the format. The level of censorship in what was once described as ‘the free world’ is scary.

Posted by: MarkU | May 10 2022 18:51 utc | 37

For Karlof1 (26) and others interested in the Russian pipelines this illustration is quite good.
https://e3.365dm.com/22/04/1600×900/skynews-graphic-russia-gas_5753291.jpg?bypass-service-worker&20220427152758

Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 10 2022 18:55 utc | 39

@ Posted by: Norwegian | May 10 2022 18:28 utc | 21
Could be a DNS ISSUE ?
I have set both the Windoze/RPI400 computerS and router to use the very fast cloud fare ones. So far this has proven very reliable.

Posted by: Bad Deal Motors On | May 10 2022 18:59 utc | 41

Russian forces used Kinzhal missiles overnight to strike targets in Odessa. I hope they included some heavy U.S. weaponry stash. Whatever it takes; crush it, smash it, incinerate it; I don’t care just blow it to kingdom come in all directions!
American tax payers may as well just dig a hole in their back yard, designate it Ukraine, throw all their hard-earned cash into the money pit, light a fuse, toss it in, tie a Ukraine flag to a skewer, roast marshmallows with it and watch their future go up in flames.

Posted by: Circe | May 10 2022 19:04 utc | 43

Hi B, I wonder how the Turkish compain in Iraq is going on?

Posted by: A.S. | May 10 2022 19:06 utc | 45

Posted by: MarkU | May 10 2022 19:07 utc | 45
Let us know if you end up having success trying other means? My post might have been confusing as well. I do use IPVanish for things like hiding my location and some piracy (I refuse to pay for HBO Max or Apple TV+), but I haven’t needed it yet to access RT or other Russian ‘state-affiliated media.’
I’m going to get on my personal laptop in just a sec and see if I can access those sites using a UK IP address w/ IPVanish.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 10 2022 19:12 utc | 47

Apologies for the multi-posts on the matter, but I did just switch PCs, signed into my VPN and set it to a UK IP address (Manchester, 185.242.7.7) and was able to access RT.com just fine. Anyone having issues might ask your ISP what’s going on, because it doesn’t seem like there’s a nationwide blackout in the UK from my experience.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 10 2022 19:15 utc | 49

Norwegian @27 & DutchZ @32–
Thanks for your replies. As Hudson details, the Outlaw US Empire wants to make the EU as economically dependent upon it as possible as more of the world exits the dollar zone. By now it ought to be very clear that all EU technocrats are under the control of Washington and will stab any/all EU nations in the back to get their–Washington’s–way. And by Washington, read Wall Street.
Yesterday, Dr. Hudson was the guest in a podcast hosted by Ben Norton and his new site, Multipolarista, which can be seen via this link at the Saker’s. Hudson sketched the overall Neoliberal/Outlaw US Empire strategy that he’s covered more in-depth in other interviews and papers that can be found at his website, these two being the most important, “America Defeats Germany for the Third Time in a Century”, and “The Dollar Devours the Euro”, although they aren’t the only ones as you’ll see. Germany is the economic engine feared by the Anglo-Americans since Bismarck unified Germany and subjugated France in 1870, and this is now the third war being waged on it by that combination. But none of this is in the interest of any ordinary European, meaning the EU is essentially a 5th Column organization working with NATO to enslave Europe to US & UK Finance Capitalism.
Russia’s SMO to liberate Ukraine is being used as a tool by the Outlaw Anglo-American Empire to sever Russia from Europe and by extension from China, too. That was the goal of making Ukraine and as much of the former Soviet Bloc into an Anti-Russia as possible. The overall policy goal was to also emasculate Russia, but that aspect has failed spectacularly as has the concomitant aspect to cutoff China from Europe.
As we move forward, Russia cannot afford to have any NATO nation abutting its borders, nor can it realistically have a Fascist EU as a neighbor. In the same vein, if Europeans want their freedom, they must overturn the EU and NATO. Thus, there appears to be common ground between Russia and most Europeans–that’s why the insane levels of Russophobia to prevent that alignment. The Ukraine issue will be solved, but this other greater issue will remain to be solved, which is why I advocate for Russia to drive on Brussels and free Europe once again.

Posted by: karlof1 | May 10 2022 19:20 utc | 51

https://twitter.com/lord_of_war____/status/1524038193800265731?s=21&t=E612KKRthOjHxIZeXdJVCQ
Real or fake? You be the judge… it’s unconfirmed for now, one has spotted a 1 over he last digit of the 2022 markdown.

Posted by: Mathew Palmieri | May 10 2022 19:32 utc | 53

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | May 9 2022 17:22 utc | 14
Tom – my apologies for a delayed response. Life intervenes.
As bevin posted, that listing was a starting point and there can be much debate over the relevant factors. I sought to demonstrate that many of the factors leading to American dominance post WWII are no longer operative.
My perspective is based on world-systems theory although this is a misnomer. To my mind a “system” is an engineered structure (an offshore oil rig), or a series of structures (an offshore rig, a pipeline system, a refinery system, a marketing and distribution system, and a human capital system all of it connected to and dependent upon a demand system (an industrial society dependent on fossil fuel energy.)
The problem is that while we may describe these elements as “systems,” they are not in fact engineered rational “systems.” Immanuel Wallerstein described a field of study which he called world systems theory. Key to his work is the understanding that at a certain level the “structure” departs from being a planned rationalist engineered entity and begins to take on a life of its own. It begins to function as a form of living organism and becomes unpredictable.
A mariner can examine a ship’s plan and tell you how long it can voyage before it runs out of fuel, how long it will take to sink, what sea state will result in a capsize, or severe structural damage. At one level the “system” can be known. At a greater level of complexity the system cannot be known as it becomes impossible to “know” the present state of each component entity. The required knowledge cannot be reduced to a series of mechanical statistics as the mind of the individual operator must also be taken into account. Think of the impact of Zelensky on the ship of state vs Putin vs Brandon.
Much depends on how you wish to interpret history and what factors are identified as critical change agents. You can argue that it was British ingenuity and capitalist pluck that resulted in the Industrial Revolution (IR). The dates are debatable as is the question of 1 or 2 successive IR, or that the IR never ended – the contemporary period being the culmination of processes originating in the initial exploitation of fossil fuels.
You can also argue the IR was a fortuitous accident. Some villagers discovered a seam of sea coal and used it warm their dwellings in winter. The UK approached full deforestation such that ship and construction timber had to be sourced from the Baltic’s and Canada. In essence there was a wood crisis which drove up the price of fuel and initiated a search for substitute forms of energy. Coal was an option but its take up would have been hindered were it not for the fact that no part of the UK is more than 30 miles from a navigable waterway and water transport was then, and remains, the lowest cost mode of transport. At the same time the enclosure acts had driven the peasant class off the land creating a significant pool of surplus labour which could be hired at bare survival wages to dig canals, work the coal face, or labour in an emergent factory system. These factors (available coal, internal and external water transport, significant labour surplus) were unique to the UK and not easily replicated elsewhere.
Prior to the IR there had been a steady migration of surplus rural population into the cities where most perished due to the cesspool created when night soil (excrement and urine) was simply tossed out the bedroom window into the streets below. The discovery of the relation between sanitation and human health coupled with the advent of steam driven pumping engines resulted in municipal water supplies of reasonable quality such that London, whose population had remained largely static for scores of decades despite high in-migration, began to grow. This growth in turn created demand for food and other necessities shipped into the city by the canal and ship system. This sparked a trading relationship between centre and periphery. The periphery barely survived while the centre vastly profited and this relationship has continued up until the Facebook-Apple-Google present.
The point I am attempting to make is that our historical explanations may be biased; they favour “great minds,” “great men,” and “great innovation” occurring in “great nations” when the actual explanation may be a fortuitous accidental combination of factors too mundane to make it into the history books. I have yet to see a history of human shit.
In my prior post I mentioned the longue durée. This analytic system provokes a long term view of human development and centres its explanations on cultural patterns embedded in the “world view” and outlook of any group of people. These “world views” may be incongruent with reality and it may require a “system shock” to make this fact “visible,” known, and generally accepted. It is possible our present emphasis on technological advance is incongruent with physical reality and the maximum carrying capacity of the planet. This calls your emphasis on technological solutions into question.
It is also highly likely that the economic relationship between centre and periphery that developed in parallel with industrialization may be inappropriate to the survival of our species. As you asert, Europe may contain a vast reservoir of historical wealth. But I suspect much of this wealth is fully invested and earning a return; it cannot be applied toward novel solutions without divestiture of present holdings. Such a shift in finance from present high profit rent seeking to unproven and speculative “green” investment may occur slowly, if at all.
To bring this back to Ukraine, I think it fair to say we are witnessing the actions of the US attempting to protect its “world empire” and the equally consequential effects of RF making the claim that a state which operates by suborning the democratic process to advance its own interests, demonstrates total contempt for recognized international law, and maintains its world-empire via lying, cheating and stealing (see https://youtu.be/6RmEsPE7iq0 ) operates as an agent of chaos and therefore constitutes a fundamental threat to the security of all peoples. The G77 appear to support the RF and the fact many readers of this blog will be unaware of the existence of the G77 and its 134 member states ( https://www.g77.org/doc/ ) demonstrates the degree to which we remain imprisoned within a debilitating false consciousness which operates to the benefit of one dominant entity. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
One final note of caution. Beware doctrinaire Marxism. First because there is the question of which Marx, and which theory, and second, as anyone who has managed a software team will testify, there is a significant degree of discomfort in watching your means of production exit the building every night.

Posted by: Sushi | May 10 2022 19:36 utc | 55

Posted by: Aleph_Null | May 10 2022 18:48 utc | 35

In my own insignificant opinion, it sounds like a lame joke, but I don’t listen to AM for his sense of humor…

Yes, it sounds lame in English, but in Russian does not: it is a pun.
In Russian language the word for page and for country is the same: strana.

Posted by: hopehely | May 10 2022 19:50 utc | 57

@ pachinko 47, Lex 57
looking for. . .rough guidelines that are likely to lead to correct conclusions more often than to wrong ones
Here’s several that coincide with Lex’s thoughts:
1. There are many variables at work that we are not completely familiar with, so conclusions are uncalled-for.
2. A good rule comes from Yogi Berra: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.” (in baseball)
3. It took the mighty US army a full four years to pacify Baghdad against partisans, not an army.
4. So. . .be amused by the details but keep both feet on the ground.

Posted by: Don Bacon | May 10 2022 20:04 utc | 59

i get rt on vancouver island, but no strategic culture…
502 and 404! – thanks @ CPY | May 10 2022 18:48 utc | 34
@ pachinko | May 10 2022 19:13 utc | 47
thanks for your post and honesty… aside from @ Lex | May 10 2022 19:54 utc | 57 response – which i agree with, i would just add that an appreciation for history and how things got to be the way they are here is extremely helpful.. being able to look at small picture – present moment info, verses big picture – geopolitical dynamics for the past 100 years and etc etc – is helpful, but not easily acquired.. and the level of propaganda being unleashed here is also unhelpful and one has to have the critical facilities to be able to navigate thru all of that as well.. it is tricky, so as lex said – most people who i tend to follow, don’t have strong confident views on where this is going because no one really knows! that said, i have my own theory and it is this :
we are moving from a unipolar to a multi polar world… the imperialist power at the moment is fading – usa-nato, but they still have huge power to try to maintain their dominance… russia and china and others are looking for a more equitable and fair world here, which is not a world where some dictate to others what is or isn’t reality – such as ”international law” verses the new term ”rules based international order” and etc. etc…. its complicated… i’ll stop here.. keep an open mind and continue to question all that you hear and read.. that is my best advice.. cheers..

Posted by: james | May 10 2022 20:07 utc | 61

@pachinko #47
There is no hard and fast rule for determining reality vs bullshit, but here are some guidelines:
1) Is the news source credible? This isn’t a reputation issue, this is a past performance issue. For me, any source that coughs up garbage twice in a row is forever contaminated and unreliable.
2) Is the breadth and depth of information consistent? I.e. if Russia is losing – why is NATO saying 0 Russian soldiers died between mid-March (when they said 15000 dead) and end of April (when they said 15000 dead again). As you can see, clearly something is not consistent here in this example. Similarly: if there are dead Russian soldiers and destroyed tanks everywhere, where are the pics? Sites like Oryx have been very poor credibility due to their posting of obviously Ukrainian gear labeled as Russian, the same vehicle counted multiple times via different camera angles/times of day, outright fakes from video games, etc etc. Similarly, spectacularly failing Russian military should be accompanied by lots of videos of dead soldiers, surrendered soldiers etc.
3) Is secondary information consistent? For example: if Russia is losing so badly – why are they consistently progressing in terms of clearing out Mariupol, and encircling the Donbas cauldron? Scott Ritter, among others, has also pointed out that it is highly inconsistent that Russia is losing if they – by even NATO reports – are attacking Ukraine with a numerical disadvantage of under 1 to 1 vs. doctrinal 3 to 1 or greater attacker vs. defender ratio.
4) Are claims based on fact or bullshit? The frequent Western MSM reports of “Russia advance stalling” or “Russia behind schedule” or “Russia fails to execute goal of X” – these are all failures based upon some sort of public plan. Does NATO really know what the plan is? The answer is: extremely unlikely based upon public pronouncements by US and EU generals and analysts prior to 2/24/2022.
Note that this doesn’t mean Russia hasn’t suffered reverses or has been perfect; what it means is that – at least to me – the yakety coming out of MSM is based on bullshit whereas what little we do know from the Russian side is based on Russian MoD announcements and numerous videos posted.
So net net: trust no one. Look at every single piece if information as if the source is lying, and critique it. Use this critique to identify what you think are credible sources, but continually check what those sources say as well.
For example: Scott Ritter has been right and/or sensible about a lot of things, but he has also made both outright errors and incorrect assumptions. Errors include thinking Lira was dead; that the initial “military operation” was shock and awe; that Russia is going all the way to Lviv, etc.
The interesting part for me isn’t the “who is winning” part.
It is how the West: US and EU will handle when Ukraine loses.
What the definition of this “losing” is, is still indeterminate but we can safely say that it will include the excision of all of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts; all of the Ukrainian coast shadowing Crimea; and some section of Ukraine north of Donetsk. Will it include Odessa and all access to the Black Sea? Will it include Kharkiv? Will Scott Ritter be right and progress will go all the way to Lviv? Only time will tell.

Posted by: c1ue | May 10 2022 20:16 utc | 63

“A man who was in Ukraine is on French radio talking about the Azov battalion’s war crimes”
Yes his name is Adrien Bocquet. He went to Ukraine to do humanitarian work and what he saw and heard from Azov mmebers left him speechless. Like “if we come across Jews or Ni@@ers we cut them to pieces”.
And yes he did witness the arrival of Russian war prisoners : the simple soldiers were shot in the knees and the officers were shot in the head.
Bocquet DOES have many vids that document these atrocities and he intends to make good use of them.
Naturally he’s now banned from going back to Ukraine.
He testified on “Sud Radio” today (2022-05-10) in a show hosted by Andre Bercoff.

Posted by: Nanker | May 10 2022 20:19 utc | 65

I understand not posting large quantities of text but this account by Russian MoD of the losses Ukraine suffered trying to retake Snake Island for a May 9th publicity stunt. should be required reading

I would like to point out that another Ukrainian Bayraktar-TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle have been shot down by Russian air defence means this afternoon near Snake Island.
The Kiev regime has thus lost 30 military UAVs alone in this area over the past three days.
9 of these, I remind you, are Bayraktar-TB2 strike UAVs.
The UAVs were all used in the failed “PR campaign” by the Kiev regime to seize Snake Island on the eve of May 9, the Great Patriotic War Victory Day.
In addition, 3 more bodies of Ukrainian saboteurs nailed from the sea were found by Russian servicemen on the shore today.
Now 27 bodies of Ukrainian special forces and nationalist fighters remain at Snake Island as a result of Kiev’s failed operation.
In total, the Kiev regime have lost 3 Su-24 bombers and 1 Su-27 fighter jet near Snake Island during militarily pointless attempt to seize the island.
10 Ukrainian Air Force helicopters have been destroyed. Among them, 3 Mi-8 helicopters with paratroopers on board and 1 Mi-24 support helicopter have been shot down in the air. In addition, 6 more Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters involved in the operation have been destroyed on the ground near Artsiz, Odessa Region.
Also 3 Ukrainian Centaur armoured amphibious assault boats with marines on board have been destroyed.
Thus, this adventure ended in disaster for Ukraine. The Kiev regime’s mindless PR campaign to seize Snake Island on the eve of Victory Day resulted in the senseless deaths of more than 50 Ukrainian fighters and members of elite AFU units, the loss of 4 aircraft, 10 helicopters, 3 boats and 30 unmanned aerial vehicles.

They died in vain!

Posted by: Ghost Ship | May 10 2022 20:30 utc | 67

Ghost Ship @66–
Yes, as noted Saturday, at least 100 KIA plus all the equipment and arms. Vain indeed!!

Posted by: karlof1 | May 10 2022 20:37 utc | 69

The press release of the Ukrainian operator says that they have suspended the transit from the Sokhranivka compressor station because it is in an area controlled by the Russians (I think Lugansk).
But he adds that “in accordance with the terms of the agreement, it is possible to temporarily transfer unavailable capacity from the physical point of Sokhranivka connection to the physical point of Sudzha connection located in the territory controlled by Ukraine.”
Nothing should change …..
https://tsoua.com/news/diyi-okupantiv-pryzvely-do-zupynky-tranzytu-gazu-cherez-gvs-sohranivka/

Posted by: FZappa | May 10 2022 20:38 utc | 71

Posted by: c1ue | May 10 2022 20:16 utc | 62
I would add to your list the practice of learning to read between the lines or even just critically analyze what is being said. Also any article that has a “?” in the headline, lol.
Does Putin Have Cancer?
Will Putin Declare Martial Law?
Is Russia Losing the War?
Etc.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | May 10 2022 20:42 utc | 73

Could some barstool warrior who’s able to access Strat. Culture please post non S.C. links to the daily articles? I believe most of the authors have other sites at which their work is posted.

Posted by: NOBTS | May 10 2022 20:46 utc | 75

@ pachinko | May 10 2022 19:13 utc | 47
If you need verification that the fighting started before the Russian operation you only need to go to the OSCE official website and check out the daily ceasefire violation reports for the week leading up to the RF invasion. Ask yourself why the massive increase in artillery attacks on the Donbass went unreported in the western media. You might also look up the Minsk agreements and ask yourself why they were never implemented and why the western media don’t cover that subject. Those and various other subjects can be used to confirm that the RF account of who started the conflict is far more honest than the NATO one.
As for who is going to win, as you said yourself, opinion is divided.
Most commenters here would probably agree that the RF would win easily against an unsupported Ukraine and that the RF is not going to be stopped by economic means. After that it gets complicated..
NATO support for Ukraine is a given, some hold that will it stop short of direct military conflict with the RF, some are of the opinion that NATO will continue to up the ante regardless.
Some hold that the RF can win a conventional war, even against the whole of NATO. Those people are usually of the opinion that the conflict will be resolved quickly. People who expect a much longer conflict are usually more pessimistic, noting that the longer a conflict takes the more likely that factors like manpower and production capacity will be the deciding factors.
Nuclear weapons are also a factor of course. Opinions vary as to whether either side is likely to resort to nuclear weapons if they are losing, obviously that opinion is inextricably connected to their view of how the conventional war is likely to play out. Some are of the opinion that nukes will not be used regardless or that one side or the other will back down in response to a tactical nuclear strike, others are more pessimistic.
I have tried to make this a neutral summary of the various viewpoints , I hope I succeeded.

Posted by: MarkU | May 10 2022 20:53 utc | 77

@Posted by: Republicofscotland | May 10 2022 19:23 utc | 51
Ukraine’s 2021 Eurovision Contest Song was a very avant grade interpretation of a traditional Ukrainian folk song. You can nearly imagine Azov battalion members replacing the dancers, plus Zelensky in his leather attire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqvzDkgok_g
Iceland’s song was very “different”, just like Iceland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSMhu-PrLME
Mussolini may have enjoyed the Italian winner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVH5dn1cxAQ
Something to lighten up the dreary darkness of current events.

Posted by: Roger | May 10 2022 21:07 utc | 79

Well looking at Peter’s map of the pipeline (thanks Peter) it seems that the places most affected are Kharkov and Odessa, (and Crimea) because there is limited alternative supply. This suggests to me that the Ukrainians assume they are soon to lose control over these places or that major attacks on them are imminent.
Or of course that the Ukrainians are just stupid – a real possibility.

Posted by: watcher | May 10 2022 21:16 utc | 81

Sushi | May 10 2022 20:05 utc | 59
I haven’t been able to find exactly where the pumping station is located – if it has been under Russian control since the start of the operation or somewhere near the current frontlines.
When it comes to a cultural hatred of Russia, UK elite seem to lead the pack which I wondered if the current move was the purpose of Johnson’s visit.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | May 10 2022 21:17 utc | 83

Micheal @74,
Maybe a touch further back to catch the machinations of the Austria-Hungarian empire. But really it only gets more complicated the further you go back.
There are plenty of heroes the Ukrainian state could have chosen to be a symbol of an independent Ukraine. Some of them have problematic attributes like all founding hero types. But in the end Ukraine settled on Bandera. That’s the telling thing. A man so psychopathic that even the Nazis didn’t want to deal with him regardless of his pledges of fealty to Hitler. Why Bandera is the question to ask. Given his ideology and behavior, why would the Ukrainian state chose him to represent the nation?
An interesting read so far is here:
http://eu.eot.su/category/books/ukrainism/
It covers how the idea of Ukraine has been formed, though only three chapters posted so far. I’ve found that the conversation with people is difficult because they can’t/won’t separate the people of Ukraine with the Ukrainian government’s policies going back to the Orange Revolution. This moment allows them to ignore that with all the supposed support of Europe and the US since 1991, the lives of ordinary Ukrainians has gotten progressively worse. There’s neither knowledge of that nor concern over it.

Posted by: Lex | May 10 2022 21:23 utc | 85

Posted by: CPY | May 10 2022 18:48 utc | 34
When Russia is done, Ukraine will be known as code 410: Gone.
RSH

Posted by: CharlesLutherThanos | May 10 2022 21:28 utc | 87

@Posted by: Sushi | May 10 2022 19:36 utc | 54
Thanks for the excellent insights. The US is very much now an agent of chaos, trying to forestall the rise China and the rest via a scorched earth policy – if they can’t dominate a region/country they will destroy it. The war aims for Ukraine seem to be to (i) undermine Russia by sanctions and extended war (ii) force the Russians to destroy the Ukraine and turn the people against it through that destruction by keeping the Ukrainians supported “just enough” (iii) disconnect Russia from Europe and the rest of the world, even if that means severely damaging Europe. They are failing in (i), working really hard to produce (ii) and have failed (iii) with respect to the rest of the world. The US plus a deeply damaged Europe will be no match for China+Russia+Iran etc., so the attempted destruction by the US of what it can’t have will continue.
Brian Berletic at his youtube channel The New Atlas, has covered the US attempts to destabilize the ASEAN nations, he recently started covering Ukraine as well.
I used to be a software development manager, so understand your comment with respect to the talent walking out the door each night. With respect to shit, you may be interested in this:
https://www.amazon.com/History-Shit-Documents-Dominique-Laporte/dp/0262621606/ref=sr_1_1?crid=MROMWIFK62PX&keywords=a+history+of+shit&qid=1652217467&sprefix=a+history+of+shit%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1

Posted by: Roger | May 10 2022 21:30 utc | 89

karlof1 | May 10 2022 19:20 utc | 50 et al
Yes! Michael Hudson on with Norton. Magnificient analysis!
Easily digestible if listen closely to get each of MH’s words. It is over 1 hour of vital data by MH, who fully understands and is also able to clearly express his views…so we can understand, too.
i repeat your link
http://thesaker.is/ben-norton-aka-multipolarista-interviews-michael-hudson-destiny-of-civilization/

Posted by: chu teh | May 10 2022 21:39 utc | 91

@ MarkU | May 10 2022 18:24 utc | 18
I also live in the UK and the RT site has been down for me for a couple of days. I get, “This site can’t provide a secure connection” when I go there. The android app works on my tablet, though, so it’s not too bad.

Posted by: D J G | May 10 2022 21:40 utc | 93

Did someone read the last report by Amnesty International about Ukraine?
Frightening. I mean the corruption of AI is frightening.

Posted by: Olivier | May 10 2022 21:46 utc | 95

Posted by: pachinko | May 10 2022 19:13 utc | 47
“As someone with no military experience and understanding beyond what is sometimes shown in movies and video games (which probably has zero relationship to reality)”
First, listen to Andrei Martyanov’s video from Monday:
Surprise, Not!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgIgXjSnCJM
As he points out, everything you hear on MSM is from the vantage point of people who know nothing about war except what they see in the movies – which is utterly divorced from reality of peer adversary modern warfare. And that includes all the ex-US military officers pontificating because they’ve never been in a modern peer-to-peer war.
“What kind of “indicators” are there that are speaking for one outcome and against the other?”
The primary indicator is that the ground Russia and the LDR controls continues to grow. Any map, even one that is anti-Russian, has to show that. But maps are not important otherwise. In war, units move about according to strategic, operational and tactical reasons, and unless you have accurate intelligence as to why, you can’t determine why from afar. You have to have direct military intelligence, which no one outside of Ukraine has – unless you’re a professional military intelligence department – and they aren’t telling what they know, it’s all propaganda.
I do believe the daily Russian Ministry of Defense briefings for the most part. After you’ve seen a month of those, you can understand why they are not losing if even ten percent of it is true.
Also, look at the military balance between the two countries. There is no chance in hell that Russia can lose this. Ukraine is the second largest army in Europe after Turkey, and Russia is destroying it using only ten percent of its readily available military power.
“sometimes it feels to me that everyone’s just talking out of their asses to pass the time (not this fine blog of course – it’s been more right than wrong throughout the past so it must be doing something right).”
Correct. They are. That mostly includes me. But I have read quite a bit about war in the past, if not the present form of war. The rest of what I say is based on logic.
As for reliable sources, there aren’t any. Martyanov would be one – but he doesn’t do it. He only talks generalities.
The only other people who have the military background to understand – or at least speculate accurately – what is going on would be people like Scott Ritter and Colonel Douglas Macgregor. And even they don’t know for sure what is happening.
I can tell you that the only source I trust – to the degree that I trust anything, and my motto has always been “Trust No One” – is b at this blog. I also tend to believe Andrei Raevsky, The Saker, because he also has military background. There’s a guy there, Nightvision, who does pretty good sitreps, but even he is just an amateur.
You just have to deal with it. The one thing you can be sure of is that the Russian General Staff would have to be morons to lose this based on the military balance – and as Martyanov says, the Russian General Staff is the best in the world and has been for centuries. “There are no surprises” as he says in that video I referenced.

Posted by: CharlesLutherThanos | May 10 2022 21:50 utc | 97

what is the average American thinking about this, God only knows
My first post here.
I am beyond disgusted with the behavior of this country and so many people in it.
Anybody who thinks “we” stand with Ukraine is on drugs.

Posted by: Michigan Dude | May 10 2022 21:51 utc | 99